Chapter 467 Lantern Festival Banquet 5
Once everyone was on the city wall, the soldiers were already prepared to protect everyone's safety. Xie Shang led Jiang Fenghua to the top of the highest building, where the view was dazzling and overwhelming.
Under the night sky, the city of Shengjing was brightly lit and bustling with activity. The people were in high spirits and flocked to the streets to watch the lanterns and enjoy the festivities. Everyone carried their favorite lanterns and their faces were filled with joy.
When the people downstairs saw the emperor appear in a bright yellow dragon robe, looking majestic and imposing, they all bowed and said, "This humble subject greets Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
The emperor stood tall and imposing, his eyes as deep as the vast night sky. He waved to everyone, signaling them to rise.
There were also officials and soldiers maintaining order below.
The people were also very happy, as Minister Tang and his soldiers were standing among them.
The envoys, standing on the upper floor, looked out and praised the lanterns again, saying, "The lanterns are so brightly lit, it's as if the stars in the night sky have been brought to earth. I've never seen such exquisite lanterns before."
At this moment, Tang Qianran squeezed in front of the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the fireworks are about to start."
She also explained to the envoys with great elegance, "Setting off fireworks is also a way for our Great Zhou to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Please look into the distance."
The first firework exploded in the sky, dazzling and colorful. Everyone was excitedly waiting for the next fireworks, but only a few duds went up into the air. They exploded with a few weak "bangs" and then there were no more unusual sounds.
Those both above and below the imperial city were stunned. Seeing this, Tang Qianran quickly explained, "It's about to begin. The first firework was spectacular; we're just testing it..."
Everyone thought it was a test, but after waiting for a while, the fireworks in the sky did not explode. They only made a few sounds and then stopped, and the sparks were very small.
Some of the people below the imperial city were already getting impatient. "Wasn't there supposed to be a grand fireworks show? Why are they all duds?"
Tang Qianran thought to herself: Didn't my cousin and the others make all the arrangements? Why aren't there any fireworks?
At this moment, Tang Qianran was standing at the very front again. Just now she had been introducing herself to the Emperor and everyone, but now she had nothing to show for it. Xie Shang looked a little embarrassed and glared at her coldly.
The Empress Dowager's expression also turned sour. What was going on? Wasn't there supposed to be a grand fireworks display?
Tang Qianran quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I will send someone to check on it. It will be ready soon. Please wait a moment."
However, until all the prepared fireworks were set off, there were only a few large fireworks; they were all lit, but none of them exploded.
Jiang Fenghua quickly added, "Actually, the Lantern Festival in the Great Zhou Dynasty isn't just about fireworks. There are also many fun games, such as guessing lantern riddles, and the dragon and lion dance performances are quite spectacular..."
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than the lanterns on the street suddenly burst into flames, and people cried out in alarm, "Fire!"
The fire of one lantern wasn't a big deal, and with soldiers and officials maintaining order at the scene, the burning lantern was quickly extinguished and cleaned up. However, every now and then, lanterns would catch fire again.
There was a moment of panic below. How could the lanterns have suddenly fallen and even caught fire? Fortunately, there were soldiers present, and no one was actually injured or a stampede occurred.
The lanterns suddenly caught fire, which made everyone feel uneasy and unlucky. The Lantern Festival is a joyous and auspicious festival with the meaning of reunion. Everyone wore new clothes to welcome the day. Now that this happened, they lost their mood for playing and all avoided the lanterns above their heads, afraid that a lantern might fall on their heads and hurt them.
Seeing this, Xie Shang said coldly, "How did it catch fire? Who was responsible for hanging these lanterns?"
Tang Qianran was too afraid to speak now; she didn't know how the lanterns, which had been hung up, had suddenly caught fire.
At this moment, the people from the Ministry of Rites also arrived. Xiao Yu and Zuo Si were the left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of Rites, respectively. They said in unison, "Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Majesty."
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "What exactly happened? How are you doing things?"
Zuo Si said, "Your Majesty, your humble servant and Minister Xiao have been maintaining order on the streets. Just now, when some fireworks went off without a hitch, I went to investigate immediately and found that there were many duds made with substandard materials."
Xiao Yu also said, "I have also checked the reason why the lantern suddenly caught fire. It is because the bamboo strips inside the lantern are not dense enough and lack support, which caused the candle inside to be knocked over, thus igniting the lantern."
"Just tell me what happened," Xie Shang said in a deep voice.
Zuo Si said, "These matters are all handled by Lord Tang Yu and Lord Wu Shen, and the Imperial Concubine personally ordered them to handle them. I don't know how this happened."
Tang Yu is Tang Qianran's third brother, and Wu Shen is her cousin.
Tang Qianran quickly said, "Your Majesty, I ordered them to carefully prepare for this banquet. I don't know how this accident happened. I will send someone to inquire immediately."
After she finished speaking, everyone's eyes were on her; she genuinely didn't know what was going on.
To ease the tension, she smiled and said, "I have also prepared glutinous rice balls for everyone. Please move to the banquet hall to eat them. I will make the arrangements right away."
"Bring Tang Yu, Wu Shen, and the others up here. I want to ask them what happened myself," Xie Shang said coldly.
Meanwhile, Tang Shangshu, who was in the crowd, saw that an accident had occurred and wanted to squeeze out of the crowd to ask what was going on. However, for some reason, he was surrounded by soldiers and civilians and could not get through the crowd.
Jiang Fenghua quickly smoothed things over, saying in a deep voice, "Actually, it's windy today, and the lanterns were hung high, so they were blown over and lit. It's just a small problem at the beginning. The Ministry of Rites is in charge of organizing this Lantern Festival banquet. Are all the other programs ready?"
Xiao Yu said in a deep voice, "The Lantern Festival banquet is a grand affair every year. The Ministry of Rites started planning long ago, but other programs were added and changed at the last minute, which is why the performance was postponed."
Zuo Si also said, "Minister You has made arrangements. Your Majesty and the envoys are welcome to move to their seats and watch the performance."
To avoid spoiling the envoys' mood, the Ministry of Rites quickly presented the prepared plan, and the palace became lively again, while the people outside the imperial city were evacuated.
Along the bustling Baihua Lake, hundreds of teahouses and taverns were open, but business was slow and quiet. This was because the government had led the people to the outskirts of the palace to watch performances. It was said that this idea came from the Imperial Concubine, so that the ladies in the palace could also see the prosperity outside the palace.
Soon, news of the incident near the imperial city reached Baihua Lake, and everyone started discussing it again. "What kind of place is the area near the imperial city? It's heavily guarded. With so many people suddenly crowding in, it's no wonder something happened."
"I heard it was the son of Minister Tang who handled this matter, and the Emperor was embarrassed in front of the envoys and even lost his temper..."
"I actually know a little about this. The thousands of lanterns cost a lot of money, but unfortunately, someone cut corners. How could this not happen? Now that it's all burned, it's the hard-earned money of ordinary people that's being burned. The shop that contracted this project is probably going to be in big trouble."
Soon, the evacuated people all rushed to Baihua Lake, and business there picked up again. Restaurant owners busily set up stages again, and fun games such as guessing riddles and winning lanterns followed one after another. The brothels and entertainment venues along Baihua Lake also became lively.
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